Mind Games
by GothicDragon221
Summary: Thanks to Sergeantheretic for giving me a title. Sequel to Friends Can't be trusted.
1. Prologue

**I do not own anything. Here is the list of what I DON'T own:**

**Tiki is a Xenomorph, which I DON'T own. No Xeno in this chapter belongs to me!**

**War of the Worlds (And it's aliens, Machi and Zerxus and all others) is another thing I DON'T own.**

**And the Crystal Egg is another thing I DON'T own.**

**I disown everything!**

**

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**

Zerxus woke up. He was back in his room on a soft clump of amarenths. He looked around and found a caged human child. Hanging from the cage door was a Martian style 'card'. The Reginite got up and approached the card. He took it from the cage. Normally Martians only leave these cards when it's a special day.

But there was nothing special about today. Curious about that, Zerxus opened the card.

A moving hologram showed Zerxus and Machi playing together when they were younger. Zerxus ignored the hologram for the moment and read the Martian writing:

-Zerxus,

Thank you for showing me the true meaning of friendship. You're an intellegent and strong willed Reginite. Mobody can make you do what you don't want to do, not even me. You're the greatest pal any Martian can have and I'm very lucky to even know you.

Your best friend in the entire universe,

Machi-

Zerxus smiled and watched the hologram.

_They were 3 and both of them had climbed onto a high beam about 15 feet abopve the ground. Zeerxus was showing off to Machi, jumping in a zig zag between 2 beams._

_Suddenly, he banged into Machi._

_"Ulla!" Machi yelled as he lost his balance and fell off the beam. Zerxus stared with wide eyes and covered his mouth with his secondary hands._

_"Oops." he mumbled when Machi hit the ground._

Zerxus closed the card, laughing silently to himself. The door opened and Machi came in, smiling.

_"Don't laugh! That was painful you know!" _he commented playfully. Zerxus placed the card on the top of the cage.

"I'm still sorry about that." Zerxus claimed. Machi went up to him.

_"And I still forgive you."_

Zerxus smiled and turned his attention to the human child, who was cowering on the cage side farthest from the 2 aliens.

"I see you brought me breakfast."

Machi smiled.

_"I figured you'd be hungry. You hadn't had anything for a while."_ he informed.

"Exactly how much is 'a while'?"

_"About a week, maybe more. I wasn't counting."_

Zerxus paused for a second. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't recall anything from before. The last thing he remembered was going to the lake and then the rest was black.That was strange because a Reginite remembers every second of his life. Machi smiled, sensing everything.

_"Don't worry. Nothing important happened." _he reassured, secretly forcing Zerxus' mind to accept the answer. The hostility may have ended, but Machi prefered to keep everything a secret.

"Alright." Zerxus said, opening the cage door and grabbing the kid. The human pounded its little fist on Zerxus' arm and tried to pull away when he was dragged out. Zerxus played little heed.

He smiled and pulled the child closer to machi. The Martian understood the gesture and chuckled.

_"No Zerxus. It's for you. Enjoy it. I've fed already." _he said, leaving the room and closing the dorr. He smiled when he heard the human's screams. He had a feeling everything will be back to normal in no time and he felt reaccepted. He liked it.

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**Here's the sequel. I've been asked not to put it in anyones POV so it will be more informative. Pleaz R&R!**


	2. Tiki's Depression

**I do not own anything. Here is the list of what I DON'T own:**

**Tiki is a Xenomorph, which I DON'T own. No Xeno in this chapter belongs to me!**

**War of the Worlds (And it's aliens, Machi and Zerxus and all others) is another thing I DON'T own.**

**And the Crystal Egg is another thing I DON'T own.**

**I disown everything!**

**

* * *

**

Tiki was lying in the middle of the floor in the living room. She sighed quietly as Machi passed her by.She's been moping about on that spot for days, leaving only to eat, drink, or getting out of Machi's way. She heard Machi go upsatirs and sighed again. She was feeling...lonely, bored, sad, unmotivated to move. There was no spark inside. She made a moaning sound and rolled onto her back.

She missed her friends. She missed playing and exploring with Muffin. She missed swimming with Morphy and nipping his shell. She missed harrassing and arguing with Melissa.

**'Why did Machi have to kill them?'** she thought to herself. Upstairs, Machi picked up the question via the Hive Mind.

_"It was something that had to be done. Get over it." _Machi replied. Tiki sighed and thought again.

**'I can't get over it. Especially knowing that they died in the worst ways possible.'**

_"Look on the bright side: Muffin had a quick death."_

**'Either way, they all died in your tentacular grip.'**

Machi didn't reply to this. He didn't feel bad about killing those 3, but he did feel rather unpleasant about Tiki's sorrow. Tiki was his favorite and it pains him to see her like this.

Tiki again sighed and rolled on her side. Zerxus walked in and looked at her. Seeing him awake and moving about, Tiki smiled for the first time in days. Zerxus smiled back, but there was a look of concern on his face.

"What's wrong Tiki?" Zerxus asked. Tiki's smile died.

**"I'm lonely**." she mumbled. Zerxus gently picked her up and petted her.

"Where's everyone else?" he questioned.

**"They're dead**." she answered. Zerxus looked shocked.

"They are? What happened?"

Tiki was about to answer with the truth**: "Machi killed them**!" But before she could, she sensed a atinging ache in her head. She looked towards the staircase and saw Machi, watching them. She knew Machi was warning her. She sighed and looked back at Zerxus.

**"I...don't know**?" she lied, wondering if the answer would satisfy Machi. It did. The light pain eased away and Machi moved up to them.

_"They died of natural causes. Earth creatures don't live very long. Their life span got the best of them_." Machi covered. Zerxus still felt uncertain but he accepted the answer, after a little mental 'help' from Machi, that is. Zerxus nodded, sadened by the news.

_"I'm sorry. But prehaps we can get new pets a little later_." Machi continued. Zerxus smiled.

"That's a great idea. Thanks Machi." Machi smiled back.

_No problem_." Machi turned away, but not before giving Tiki a short glare. She may be his favorite, but she nearly blew his little secret. He considered wiping out her memory, but found that unnessasary. Prehaps giving her a frequent warning will keep her mouth shut. He directed his Handling Machine to take him back upstairs.

Tiki felt terrible. She wanted so bad to tell Zerxus the truth, but Machi will never allow her to do that. Zerxus was unaware of the situation. He was sadly staring towards a nearby window, watching the birds.

**"Zerxus?"** Tiki mumbled, getting his attention. **"I'm so ALONE!"** She started crying.

Zerxus petted her. He knew the only thing that frighhtened a Xeno is being alone or anything along those lines. But Zerxus had an idea. Smiling, he placed Tiki onto his cape and walked around, dragging her along behind him. Tiki smiled and laughed, enjoying her favorite sport Cape Riding.

She feels better now.

-Machi-

Machi entered his room, which was the largest room in the house. Like Zerxus' room, it was designed to be exactly like his homeplanet of Mars. Everything about it was red. Red Martian soil covered the floor and the 6 foot tall cactus-like 'Red Weed' grew in thick bunches in the room's corners. Even the walls and door was made red to resemble the Mars atmosphere.

Zerxus' Yacama rom was different of course. Orange soil covered the floor instead of red. And instead of being confined in corners, amarenths, the Reginite 'Red Weed', grew all over the floor, but were kept off the walls, which too resembles an alien sky: Red on the lower atmospheres and black on the higher.

Machi scanned his room, as if checking if anyone has snuck in recently, then got off his machine. This room made Machi even more comfortable by having gravity equal to that on Mars and the air supply didn't leave him gasping for breath or salivating, as Earth's air does. Only diference this place had with the true Mars is the temperature. It's warmer here, and that's exactly how Machi likes it.

He moved towards the farthest corner from the door and gently rummaged through his plants. He paused and a blue light reflected from a shining object in the clump of plants and off of Machi's large black eyes.

Grasping the object with a couple of tentacles, Machi removed an egg shaped object: the Crystal Egg.

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**Another chapter here. Finally, it's 1:10 am and I'm still not tired. I plan on staying up all night. The next chapter might come sometime tonight if someone reviews before I go home in the morning. If not, then wait sometime during the weekdays or something.**


	3. Visitors

**I do not own anything. Here is the list of what I DON'T own:**

**Tiki is a Xenomorph, which I DON'T own. No Xeno in this chapter belongs to me!**

**War of the Worlds (And it's aliens, Machi and Zerxus and all others) is another thing I DON'T own.**

**And the Crystal Egg is another thing I DON'T own.**

**I disown everything!**

**

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**

Machi stared at the egg in admiration. He loved the glowing blue light radiating off of it. He likes almost any flashing light. Occasionally, he would get on his Tripod and go to the Artic and watch the northern lights for hours. And speaking of Tripod...

Machi used the Crystal Egg to contact a special group of Reginites. They are the ones who build the Z'hinas, the Reginite war machines.

_"This is Machi. I'm requesting a replacement Z'hina for Zerxus. The first was in an...accident." _Machi informed. The Reginites smiled and nodded. They all knew Machi and Zerxus had a very important status in their society. It would be an honor to serve them

_"What is your location, Great Machi?" _one of them asked.

_"Planet Earth. North America. USA. California. Chula Vista."_

The Reginites immedatly recorded the information.

_"Okay. It'll arrive in an Earth day or 2."_

_"Excellent. And while your at it, bring some Ziths."_

Again the Reginites nodded.

_"Of course."_

Machi broke contact. He continued to examine the egg.

_"Machi."_

He paused as the Martian Council of the Minds' image appeared on the egg. Uh oh...Machi got nervous.

_"Machi. Are we to believe that you didn't get anything about the pzanos from Zerxus?"_

Machi paused. Busted...

_"No, I didn't." _he answered.

_"Why ever not?" _one of them asked. Machi smiled.

_"Zerxus is a much more stubborn Reginite than I originally thought." _he said, no longer nervous. He had no reason to be. As far as he's concerned, he has slightly more power than they did.

_"Well, how long will it take for you to succeed?"_

Machi chuckled.

_"Let's say never."_ he said in total confedence. He broke contact.

-Tiki-

Tiki watched Machi from the vent. She's out of her sadness and moping schedule. But Cape Riding brought back too many memories, so she abandoned the game. Now she's been scurrying around the shafts, picking up insects to eat along the way.

She was aware of what happened. And she was happy about Machi's decision. Maybe he can be trusted after all and maybe she didn't have to so cautious around him. He is starting to earn her trust again.

-Machi-

Machi also felt good about what he did. He was sure there was another way to get the pzanos. A way that didn't involve putting his friends in danger. He hid the Crystal Egg in the plants again and moved to the vent. He reached in and grabbed Tiki softly. He's been knowing she was hiding in there.

Tiki didn't struggle like she's been doing during the past few days everytime Machi grabbed her. This time, she was happy to be with him. She purred and rubbed her head on a tentacle. Machi petted her.

**"I'm so proud of you Machi." **she said. Machi smiled.

"I'm going to the pet store!" Zerxus called from another room.

**"Uh oh..." **Tiki mumbled. There was a pause before Zerxus walked in.

"Where's my Z'hina?" he asked. Tiki smiled sheepishly. Machi chuckled. Zerxus watched them in confusion.

_"Tiki took a driver's test." _Machi told him. The Reginite's mouth dropped.

**"I did good." **Tiki mumbled. Machi looked down at her. She poked at a tentacle guiltily.

_"You crashed it and blew it up." _Machi said paused and shifted uncomfortably.

**"I did good." **she repeated. Zerxus shook his head.

_"Don't worry. I ordered you another." _Machi assured. Zertxus smiled.

"Thanks."

_"Like I said, don't worry. Anyway...we can walk there. In some ways, that'll be better." _he offered. Zerxus nodded. He knew it was safer to walk since he and Machi can take on human forms. While in human form, everything changes, even their DNA. They can practically take medical tested and go on undetected. They don't have a problem walking around in their true alien form, but deguising themselves will make things easier.

Leaving Tiki in the house, Machi and Zerxus walked out the door.

_"Male or female?" _Machi asked. Since both races are without gender, they can choose between sexes and it won't make much of a ifference to them. Zerxus shrugged.

"Who cares? I don't. Male...female. They all look the same to me." Zerxus mumbled. Choosing to be male, they wandered to the nearest pet store.

-Tiki-

Tiki trotted around. She wandered to the fridge and jumped on the handle. Thrusting herself back while clutching the door, she opened the fridge. Leaping down, she rummaged through the contents of raw meat products.

-Machi/Zerxus-

Machi and Zerxus stared at the tropical fish.

"These things make me hungry." Zerxus mumbled to Machi. Machi smiled.

"I can make them jump out of the tank. Wanna watch?" Machi asked. As long as they are in human form, Martians can speak vocally. Zerxus chuckled.

"Don't Machi. You'll just stress them out." he said. "You can kill them."

"That's the point." Smiling, Zerxus playfully pulled Machi away before he can cause the fish any harm.

-Tiki-

Tiki was still raiding the fridge when she heard something outside. She leaned back to look over the side of the door. A steak was flopped on top of her head and she had a rib in her jaws, nibbling it with her tongue.

There was a silent pause. Tiki listened carefully. She can hear the hum of a machine. It reminded her of Zerxus' Z'hina.

**"I knew was going to come back and haunt me."** she mumbled. The hum stopped. Tiki put the rib and steak back and closed the door. She heard footsteps just outside. She hoped Machi and Zerxus was back.

The knob fumbled but the door was locked. Someone was trying to get in. Tiki cautiously approached the front door. And instinctive growl emerged from her throat. Whoever's out there isn't part of this Hive. Reflexive thoughts came up in her mind.

**'Intruders. Protect the Hive. Kill them!'**

Tiki's growl turned into a hiss. The door fell silent. Tiki growled again. The door bell rang. Tiki quieted down and jumped on the knob. She unlocked it.

**"Open and enter at your own risk!" **she said threateningly, jumping off. The door slowly began to move.

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**No more grounding! Freedom! YES!!!! Next chapter will come up when I feel like it. Just kidding. As soon as I can. Pleaz Read and review.**


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